Former Arkansas First Lady Hillary Clinton is neck and neck with Senator Bernie Sanders in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination after last night’s Iowa Caucus results. However, there are many primaries left and political scientist Hal Bass says a close race in Iowa is good for Clinton.

“Iowa is not fertile soil for her and if Sanders can’t overwhelm her in a place like Iowa – and he didn’t – then it’s difficult to see how he competes on far less favorable terrain, such as in Arkansas on March 1,” Bass said.

On the Republican side, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is out of the presidential race after finishing among the last candidates in the Iowa Republican Caucuses.

Early on, Huckabee took issue with the suggestion his campaign was being out shadowed by others, but Bass says Huckabee ultimately succumbed to the more crowded field and didn’t get the media attention he did in his last presidential campaign.

In particular the evangelicals, his core constituents in 2008, just abandoned him this time around, Bass says.

“I think that his very folksy campaign style in 2008, that appeared so attractive, really didn’t match the public mood, and in turn gave way – on his part – to a much more strident style that was unsuccessful in tapping into that public anger. In particular the evangelicals – his core constituents in 2008 – just abandoned him this time around,” Bass says.

Huckabee’s departure could run the risk of diminishing the appeal of the GOP primary in Arkansas.

“The departure of Huckabee from the field takes the kind of favorite son category out on the Republican side for Arkansas voters,” Bass said.

An endorsement from Huckabee could still carry some weight for remaining republican candidates. Bass says whether party figures in Arkansas follow Huckabee with their endorsements will be an indicator of his remaining political strength.

Related Content

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is suspending his presidential campaign, according to a tweet sent on Huckabee's Twitter account Tuesday night.

It came after he only got two percent of the vote in the Iowa Caucuses, a state he won in 2008. Huckabee had recently said that it would be difficult for his campaign to continue if he didn't at least make it into the top three candidates.

Huckabee's tweet said:

I am officially suspending my campaign. Thank you for all your loyal support.

The candidate filing period for the 2016 elections got underway Monday at the state Captiol, with presidential races dominating attention.

The first person in line was former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who is making his second bid for president. He was greeted like an old friend by many in the Rotunda, before signing the necessary paperwork alongside his wife Janet.

Afterward he told reporters that while other Republicans have been leading in national polls, that’s no indication of how things will be when the first caucuses are held in Iowa in February.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee announced Tuesday that he is seeking the Republican presidential nomination.

"It seems perfectly fitting that it would be here that I announce that I am a candidate for president of the United States of America," he told a crowd of supporters in his hometown of Hope, Ark., which is also Bill Clinton's hometown.

Huckabee, who previously ran for the presidency in 2008, hosted a television program on Fox News until January, when he ended the eponymous show to consider his political future.